Blade to cut aluminum profiles

[branimal]

I've got to cut thin aluminum tile profiles for my bathroom reno. Mostly length cuts. Some miter cuts.

I've got a 12" dewalt miter saw. I was looking at non-ferrous blades @ home depot and they are $70. Amazon has some for ~$45 but with COVID-19 it's going to take a while before the blade arrives.

I've got other tools on hand - chop saw, circ saw, angle grinder, jig-saw, wet-saw, hacksaw, etc. But it seems like the miter-saw is the quickest and most accurate.

Any other viable options to get nice clean cuts on aluminum profiles?

Aluminum 96 tooth count blade. link.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIABLO-...I4-XGGbwLZeM1EDWvGkaAsi_EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks.

 

[exmaxima1]

I cut lots of aluminum bars and extrusions on a Dewalt 12 miter saw using a 80T NF blade. Most of the extrusions are at least 1/8" wall, and some stock is 3/4". Never an issue.

I get scared when the material is thin---less than 1/8"---as the tooth count is too low. The material can grab and kick/explode. I have much better luck with a band saw (or PortaBand), and use a disc sander to clean up the edge when needed. For thin tiles, look for the highest tooth count you can find. Depending on how may cuts you need, a cheap non-carbide plywood blade may be fine.

 

[mike93lx]

any woodworking blade will do fine with aluminum. just use your normal, carbide tipped blade. no need for anything special

 

[branimal]

any woodworking blade will do fine with aluminum. just use your normal, carbide tipped blade. no need for anything special

I won't mess up the blade? Will the cuts come out clean? Or minor filing required?

 

[mike93lx]

I won't mess up the blade? Will the cuts come out clean? Or minor filing required?

The blade will be unaffected. The carbide tips are way harder than aluminum.

I have cut aluminum on my miter saw many times,always with great results. Clean, no burrs, no filing unless I need the edge eased over.

Only exception is aluminum on a bandsaw. It can cause gumming, but there are ways to mitigate that.

 

[seber]

Go slow. Very light pressure when you do this.

 

[manwithtools]

This ^^^

High tooth count, negative rake are ideal for Al, but a standard fine tooth blade will work okay for a few cuts.

 

[exmaxima1]

This ^^^

High tooth count, negative rake are ideal for Al, but a standard fine tooth blade will work okay for a few cuts.

Absolutely, zero or negative rake for safety with non-ferrous metals on a miter saw. **** happens fast if that blade grabs.

 

[Bondo]

Only exception is aluminum on a bandsaw. It can cause gumming, but there are ways to mitigate that.

Ayuh,...... A handful of snow, or this time of year, ice cubes will stop the aluminum from weldin'/ smearin' itself to the saw blade,.....

 

[gatlibs]

The smaller the blade, the smaller the price. You can use a vise and a circular saw or just a smaller sized blade in the miter saw provided that you can use a smaller blade.

 

[CallumRD1]

I use a 7-1/4” diabo circular saw blade designed for aluminum in my table saw. I use a cross cut sled to cut 1/2” thick aluminum bar stock all the time. It’s tends to give an imperfect surface finish due to the heat and rubbing but is quick, easy, cheap, and safe.

 

[dnschmidt]

Everybody is missing the key ingredient. STICK WAX. With aluminum you MUST put a coat of wax on the blade body and teeth (I use Rilton Stik-Kut) to prevent galling of the teeth which leads to REALLY BAD THINGS happening.

WD40 works OK but must be reapplied frequently. With Stik-Kut you can do it once and not need to do it again for at least 100 cuts.

 

[techieman33]

Everybody is missing the key ingredient. STICK WAX. With aluminum you MUST put a coat of wax on the blade body and teeth (I use Rilton Stik-Kut) to prevent galling of the teeth which leads to REALLY BAD THINGS happening.

WD40 works OK but must be reapplied frequently. With Stik-Kut you can do it once and not need to do it again for at least 100 cuts.

THIS! When I built my road cases I had to cut a lot of thin aluminum in my miter saw. Got a high tooth count blade, went slow, etc. I thought everything was going fine for the first 40 or so cuts until BOOM. The blade grabbed the aluminum and sent it flying along with a carbide tooth from the blade. That was scary as hell. I did some searching around, got a new blade, some stick wax and everything was gravy after that. The wax made a bit of a mess to clean up but it was worth it. The cuts were much smoother and cleaner with it.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

I have recently cut LOTS of aluminum angle on my table saw. Some cheap Black & Decker Firestorm blade that was given to me has worked better than any of the other blades in my inventory.
The stuff I have been cutting is 1/16", but I have some 1/8" to cut later.
Using my high end Woodhaven miter gauge I have been getting perfect 45* angles and using them to build drawers for my workbench.

 

[rlitman]

I won't mess up the blade? Will the cuts come out clean? Or minor filing required?

exmaxima1 said it best. Thin profiles can kick or bend if cut with too coarse a blade too quickly. Go very slow and use minimal down pressure.

Also, while 80T may seem like a lot, it's not super fine on a 12" saw. That being said, I recently used my 80T 12" blade to cut up aluminum pool ladder treads to make the ladder fit a different use. It went well, with very clean cuts. You will NOT need to file them, but you might want to use a knife to debur some edges.

FYI, the chips require serious eye protection, and the blade will scream like a banshee.

 

[branimal]

considering i don't want to end up in the ER from a flying saw blade during COVID-19 in Brooklyn NY, I'm leaning toward ponying up for the 96 tooth metal cutting blade.

The blade that came on my dewalt is a 32 tooth carbide tip blade IIRC.

I've got to make 30 cuts.

Home depot 10% off coupon the blade works out to $63.

 

[techieman33]

considering i don't want to end up in the ER from a flying saw blade during COVID-19 in Brooklyn NY, I'm leaning toward ponying up for the 96 tooth metal cutting blade.

The blade that came on my dewalt is a 32 tooth carbide tip blade IIRC.

I've got to make 30 cuts.

Home depot 10% off coupon the blade works out to $63.

Yeah, don't use a 32 tooth blade. But if you can find another high tooth count blade it would be fine. The big thing is don't forget the wax.

 

[The Cobbler]

we've cut thousands of stair nosings, floor transitions etc on a miter saw with a regular trim blade. if you go easy there's no problem. wax would help, but we used the same saws/blades for trim . sure it takes life out of them, but it was part of the cost of the job basically. to drag another saw or have a guy change the blade is labour too .
and I do have an aluminum blade setup in a mitersaw and fence also wax to make aluminum screen frames

 

[el monte slim]

Everybody is missing the key ingredient. STICK WAX. With aluminum you MUST put a coat of wax on the blade body and teeth (I use Rilton Stik-Kut) to prevent galling of the teeth which leads to REALLY BAD THINGS happening.

WD40 works OK but must be reapplied frequently. With Stik-Kut you can do it once and not need to do it again for at least 100 cuts.

THIS! When I built my road cases I had to cut a lot of thin aluminum in my miter saw. Got a high tooth count blade, went slow, etc. I thought everything was going fine for the first 40 or so cuts until BOOM. The blade grabbed the aluminum and sent it flying along with a carbide tooth from the blade. That was scary as hell. I did some searching around, got a new blade, some stick wax and everything was gravy after that. The wax made a bit of a mess to clean up but it was worth it. The cuts were much smoother and cleaner with it.

I'm not a fan of using Relton Stick-Kut wax on circular saw blades. Even in small amounts, it gets thrown on nearly everything within ten feet of the miter saw. I used it once for cutting a bunch of 5/8" aluminum channel, and found out the hard way, because of the cleanup required.

Sometime after that less than positive experience, I received some good advice from a friend. His production job shop cuts 1/2" square aluminum tube every day with a (Dewalt) miter saw. They use 100% natural vegetable oil non-stick cooking spray on the blade. ("PAM" brand high temp for grilling) He swears by the stuff because it's safe, cost effective, and produces a great result without making a mess.

 

[branimal]

Local HD doesn’t have saw wax in stock. I do have some cooking spray on hand.

 

[tyyost]

Everyone is spot on about the blades and lube for cutting aluminum with your miter saw.

The only advice I would have would be to think about putting together some softwood or plywood insert in an L shape across the body of your saw and the fence to give you a zero clearance base for your cutting. You mentioned tiles, which are already likely smaller than I’d want to handle on my DeWalt saw without extra support at minimum at the fence.

Modern mitersaws are built to serve many roles, and the new thin kerf blades we have give pretty good results if matched to the work, but the fences are relieved in all directions for the saw to swing and cut miters and bevels, and with loose throats plates to accommodate the variety of uses. The biggest danger cutting anything is it shifting into the cut path and going flying with the some of the teeth on the blade. Last time I did this I set up an older Delta mitersaw “chop box” from before the bevels with an auxiliary fence and a nice 90 tooth carbide blade and it worked very well with a slow feed.

 

[rlitman]

Local HD doesn’t have saw wax in stock. I do have some cooking spray on hand.

That'll be just fine.

 

[Firebrick43]

The blade that came on my dewalt is a 32 tooth carbide tip blade IIRC.

What??? They put a blade on a miter saw with such a low tooth count like a rip blade? Every miter saw I have bought has a 60 tooth blade.

Note: google 32 tooth miter saw blade and yep there is Dewalt after Dewalt. Such a low tooth count should never be on a 10”/12”saw cross cutting anything.

 

[manwithtools]

What??? They put a blade on a miter saw with such a low tooth count like a rip blade? Every miter saw I have bought has a 60 tooth blade.

Note: google 32 tooth miter saw blade and yep there is Dewalt after Dewalt. Such a low tooth count should never be on a 10”/12”saw cross cutting anything.

Maybe it might be okay if you are cutting framing lumber. Obviously a miter saw is not the ideal tool for that, but who knows what they (Dewalt) are thinking. Maybe they think it will lead to another blade sale for them, when in reality most folks would buy a Freud or similar if they go to a higher tooth count.

 

[mike93lx]

36 tooth on a 12" blade is like a damn chainsaw. My default 12" blade is a 72 tooth and my finer blade is 96 tooth

 

[dnschmidt]

OK, I'm going to give you the skinny on how to use Stik-Kut on a circular saw blade. You will need to do this VERY seldom and it doesn't throw wax on anything.

1) Cut about a 1" chunk of Stik-Kut from the tube and place it into a small bowl.
2) Place the bowl into a microwave and microwave it on high for two minutes
3) This will melt the Stik-Kut. That's good that's what you want.
4) Use a paint brush, cheap chip brush works well, to brush the melted Stik-Kut onto the blade and it's teeth. Paint both sides of the blade. A thin coat is all you need.
5) The blade prepared in this manner will cut a **** load of aluminum before it's necessary to re-apply.
6) Let the Stik-Wax harden in the bowl so that the next time it's needed you're ready to go.

Why do I give away this inside information?

 

[branimal]

Ordered a stick wax from Home Depot. Should be here in a week.

Changed my blade to the 96 tooth diablo. I REALLY have to go SLOW for the blade not to catch and jostle the work piece. Whoa that was a little jarring.

Here’s the 32 tooth blade that came with my dws779.

 

[mike93lx]

if you are uneasy at all, clamp the workpiece, don't hold it by hand. if it does grab, you will be in a world of hurt.

i'm guessing you may also be going slower than necessary. something thin really should be quick, easy and drama-free, even without any lubricant

 

[branimal]

if you are uneasy at all, clamp the workpiece, don't hold it by hand. if it does grab, you will be in a world of hurt.

i'm guessing you may also be going slower than necessary. something thin really should be quick, easy and drama-free, even without any lubricant

I had no luck cutting the profile at a 45 without the blade catching. The profile edges end up jagged or bent. I am going realy slow.

I'll try speeding it up a bit.

Yeah I was holding it down by hand. Will figure out a way to clamp it down.

 

[seber]

You could always use an angle grinder with cutoff blade.

 

[mike93lx]

I had no luck cutting the profile at a 45 without the blade catching. The profile edges end up jagged or bent. I am going realy slow.

I'll try speeding it up a bit.

Yeah I was holding it down by hand. Will figure out a way to clamp it down.

That thin stuff really should be a non issue. You are overthinking this.

If you need something larger to clamp, you can sandwich it between two pieces of wood.

 

[dnschmidt]

Clamping is essential. I've build many jigs for both my miter saw (DeWalt) and table saw (Delta) to cut aluminum using DeStaCo clamps to hold the work. Massively improves both safety and the quality of cut.

 

[Firstram]

Part of the problem is lack of support for the aluminum. Build a sub table/fence with 3/4 plywood and adjust the depth of cut on your saw so you don't cut thru the base.

I like to use a 10" x 8' rip for the base and a 4" rip for the fence. Glue and screw (or nail) the fence to the back edge of the base( l____ ), place the fasteners roughly 12" oc. With a big fat marker, clearly mark the screws on the top of the base.

Once the glue is dry, align the new table so you don't cut the screws and adjust the cutting depth to just score the 3/4" base. You need to go deep enough for the blade to completely cut the stock, but do not cut the base in half! I drill 1/4" holes thru all of my saw fences to attach assorted fixtures, but you can use clamps if you want.

With this zero clearance setup you can align the mark with the kerf in the new fence, hold the stock down with a board and cut with confidence. ALWAYS use wax with aluminum!

 

[branimal]

Good ideas on building jigs guys. I ordered some toggle clamps from HD - not a stocked item in my HD.

I did manage a clean cut yesterday by clamping the aluminum to the miter saw's fence with spring clamps. Clamping it down made a huge difference. It was a little dicey so I'll be building the jig.

Thanks

 

[rsanter]

I won't mess up the blade? Will the cuts come out clean? Or minor filing required?

You have to go a bit easy as the carbide used for cutting wood is harder than the ones for cutting aliminum so it can be a more prone to chipping.

Go easy and you will be fine

 

[Ohmthis]

I use a set of tin snips an a speed square. Less than one min and I do t have to leave the work area. Cut out the center and bend to square. Leaves a perfect edge.

 

[branimal]

Got all the profiles cut and installed.

Now I’m building window trim and my stock 32 tooth dewalt blade isn’t giving me great cuts.

Can I use the aluminum cutting blade I bought to cut 1x pine material? Or will cutting pine dull the blade?

 

[Firstram]

I'm glad you got the parts cut but this ^ is a recipe for disaster! A zero clearance, plywood bed/fence is the only way I'd cut small thin stuff on a slide saw. I've seen too many broken and severed fingers from things grabbing. A ply bed is so handy for woodworking that once you've used one a few times you'll never want to be without. Just because it slides it doesn't mean that you can't lock the slide in position that works and just cut conventionally.
Be careful!

 

[mike93lx]

Got all the profiles cut and installed.

Now I’m building window trim and my stock 32 tooth dewalt blade isn’t giving me great cuts.

Can I use the aluminum cutting blade I bought to cut 1x pine material? Or will cutting pine dull the blade?

It should be fine, but you should probably get a trim blade.

 

[branimal]

I'm glad you got the parts cut but this ^ is a recipe for disaster! A zero clearance, plywood bed/fence is the only way I'd cut small thin stuff on a slide saw. I've seen too many broken and severed fingers from things grabbing. A ply bed is so handy for woodworking that once you've used one a few times you'll never want to be without. Just because it slides it doesn't mean that you can't lock the slide in position that works and just cut conventionally.

Be careful!

Yeah it was still dicey. I gotta spend some time and read up on making a proper fence.